We Talk to Everybody

Among the Who's Who of the Linux Kernel, Alan Cox is probably
one of the bigger Whos in the bunch. From his work on the Linux
networking code to his current role as maintainer of the stable
kernel releases, there are few who have meant as much to Linux as
Alan.

I like the flexibility and the control of free
software. Most of my experiences with proprietary software have
been either getting screwed as a user or being part of a larger
company that had to threaten its suppliers with lawsuits to get
service.

Somewhat provocative, but a familiar cheer and lament from
many who have spent a goodly amount of time with Linux and
open-source software.

Alan was actually working on ideas for his own operating
system when his interest in Linux first began.

I had pondered getting a decent PC since the
Amiga was getting a bit long in the tooth. 386BSD came out, and it
looked like finally there was an OS worth running on x86 hardware.
Linux came out about the same time, but didn't need an FPU, so I
started running Linux.

As one of the operating system's true progenitors, Alan is
well aware of the importance of the GNU project to the development
and maturation of Linux.

In fact, in many ways Linux exists because GNU
chose to pursue the HURD rather than using UZI as their UNIX OS
core ... GNU/Linux is perhaps overstating it, but ignoring the FSF
(Free Software Foundation) contribution is even worse ... It's
really x11/BSD/GNU/.../Linux.

Alan now works for Red Hat, the poster boy and problem child
for many in and around the Linux community. He still has time,
however, to hack free software at home, as well as visit friends
and colleagues while traveling to conferences and trade shows.
While there are many more people who have contributed to Linux than
could ever fit under one roof, Alan seems to have made his peace
working for “a vendor.”

I get regular mail from people trying to find
Linux-aware folks to hire. I think those who wrote code for fun
have plenty of opportunity to reap rewards. Even when I wasn't
working for Red Hat, it didn't bother me. I wrote it for fun, and
the fact that people found it useful was a greater reward than
money.

Alan Cox's e-mail address is alan@lxorguk.ukuu.org.uk.

Laurence Culhane

Among those who made major contributions to the Linux kernel
yet moved on to a relatively hack-free lifestyle, Laurence Culhane
is one of those who stands out. A radio presenter for the BBC when
he first encountered Linux, today Laurence is a senior BBC
journalist. But in between then and now, he enjoyed several heady
years in the thick of Linux kernel hacking. He recalls,

It was fun. At first I didn't realize how
revolutionary the idea was—it seemed so natural. It wasn't
perfect, and with only limited free time, I found it quite hard to
keep up with the demands for improvements to what had initially
been just a quick hack to keep me connected.

Like many others, including Linus Torvalds himself,
Laurence's Linux hack sprang from “purely selfish reasons.” As he
tells the story,

I wanted Usenet and e-mail, and for that I needed
SLIP/PPP. Neither had been written at the time, so I went and
looked at the RFC's and wrote something that gave me adequate SLIP
access.

Laurence wrote the original alpha SLIP code for the Linux
kernel “and sent Linus the odd patch when I couldn't get other
code to port and it looked like a kernel issue.” Given Laurence's
need-based arrival in the world of Linux and open-source software,
it is little surprise that much of the philosophy behind the Linux
movement was initially lost on him: “I hadn't thought about free
software, free speech or anything at that point. I just wanted
Linux to work.”

What attracted him to Linux? “The fact that it was free was
the first reason I looked at it,” Laurence admits. “I'd just left
the university, had no money and certainly couldn't afford
thousands of pounds [for] a commercial UNIX license.” It was at
the university where Laurence got his first taste of a major UNIX
system. Having built his first s-100 z-80A system at the age of 15,
he “fell in love with BSD UNIX” while at the university, “found
a 32016 S-100 CPU and MINIX and never left.”

Although Laurence no longer considers himself a Linux
developer, he is still a regular Linux user and tries to keep up
with the latest developments in Linux in general and the kernel in
specific. While he thinks the current popularity surrounding Linux
is “great,” he thinks a little reserve is probably a good idea.
He says,

I think it's important that people don't get
overzealous about Linux ... I'm a passionate fan; I had never even
used an MS product until 1998 when work dictated that I did. [But]
I'm suggesting that my dad have a dual-boot Linux-Windows machine,
with a Mac emulator under Linux because having access to all three
operating systems is the right solution for his job.